Research: Hypercubes Could Be Building Blocks of Nanocomputers

Hypercubes Could Be Building Blocks of Nanocomputers
PhysOrg.com (04/01/08) Zyga, Lisa

Multi-dimensional structures called hypercubes could serve as the building blocks in future nanocomputers. University of Oklahoma researchers Samuel Lee and Loyd Hook say tomorrow's nanoelectronic-based devices will be dominated by quantum properties that will require new architectures and structures. "Compared to today's microcomputers, the main advantages of future nanocomputers are higher circuit density, lower power consumption, faster computation speed, and more parallel and distributed computing capabilities," Lee says. For example, while current integrated circuits process information as a continual flow of electrons, nano-integrated circuits would process individual electrons. Lee and Hook are working on a variant of the hypercube called the M-hypercube, which could provide a higher-dimensional layout to support the three-dimensional integrated circuits needed for nanocomputers. M-hypercubes are composed of nodes, which act as gates that receive and pass electrons, and links that act as the paths that electrons travel along. "The unique structure of hypercubes, including M-hypercubes, has been shown to be effective in parallel computing and communication networks and provides a unique ideal intrinsic structure which fulfills many of the needs of future nanocomputing systems," Lee says. "These needs include massively parallel and distributed processing architecture with simple and robust communication linkages."
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